Subject 7
by Zoltack429
Summary: An outsider threatens to disturb the peace in the forest...
1. Chapter 1

**UPDATE (09/13/15): OVER 2000 VIEWS OVERALL! WOO-HOO! You guys are the best! And if you like the story don't forget to push the favorite button or take a minute to write a review! Thank you!  
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**Reviewing Guideline: (1)Tell me if you understood the purpose or moral and if I communicated that well. (2)If there was something you would have done differently, what would it be? (3)How good was the length of each chapter? (4)Did I develop the characters well? (5)On a scale to 1-10 how would you rate the originality? (6)Were there few enough typos that the story flowed well? Are there areas that are just really bad that you can't stand reading? (7)Would you recommend your friends/family to read this story? Why or why not?  
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**Another note: I know it gets a little science fictiony at the end. Originally this was suppose to be a Halloween story less than 1500 words, and it ended up being a 12 chapter 22,000 word short story. Who knew right? :/**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everybody! If you're reading this that means that you were either curious or maybe interested in reading my story, and for that I thank you. You can find illustrations to this story by visiting my profile where there is a link to my dev-art gallery. Be sure to look in the "Bambi Tales" folder. I am really going to make an effort to push out as many chapters as I can to finish this story, because 1. I have another story to finish; "The Silent Willows," 2. I'm planning on doing a reading of both stories on YouTube when every chapter is written and complete, and every illustration has been drawn. I would appreciate any feedback (even if it's negative), so please (just takes one second) write a quick review after you read each chapter. Thanks again. -Zoltack429**

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The bright, warm, and cheerful summer sun was about to make its grand appearance deep inside the sleeping forest. To all of the creatures that reside in the forest, seeing the sunrise was always a welcome sight because it signified the start of a new day. All of the animals started their morning rituals as they awoke from their slumbers. Among these animals were the noble and majestic deer. What remarkable and resilient creatures they are.

In the morning all of the deer will walk to the meadow to graze on the luscious green grass covered in the morning's dew. All of the deer belonged to a large herd led by a single prince called "The Great Prince" who is the oldest and wises deer in the forest. The Great Prince is very elusive, and only appears when there is great danger or other trouble afoot. The Great Prince has only one son named Bambi. Bambi, an adult prince, has two children of his own; a son named Geno, and a daughter named Gurri. Geno and Gurri will spend most of their time with their mother Faline until they are old enough to wonder the forest by themselves. They will also visit the other deer in the forest on the meadow to either gossip or play silly games. A favorite game that all the fawns like to play is tag where one child will chase the others until he or she nudges someone else with their nose. Now they are no longer the pursuer, but the pursued; that is, until they are nudged again.

In the meadow, the does (female deer) will gather together to talk about issues or whatever else they have on their mind while the princes (the male deer) will gather in their own group, but they hardly speak with each other. The princes are mainly there to eat and rest to save energy for the fall when they become interested in the does again. The princes almost never speak to children unless they are their own.

On this particular morning, Geno and Gurri were playing with two other fawns named Bonn and Lana. Their mother Rolla is close friends with Geno and Gurri's mother Faline. The children, of course, were playing their favorite game tag, but as soon as they would get tired they would stop to speak with each other. Most of their conversations where gleeful, but sometimes someone will mention a dark subject that makes everyone feel awkward. These dark conversations will almost always include predators especially their super predator Man. The children are taught at an early age that Man is the worst enemy of all. Not even the cougar can match Him because you will always see the cougar coming. Oh sure you can smell Him from a great distance if the wind is right, but if the wind is wrong He can reach out and kill you without ever being spotted. Man usually comes to the forest during the fall, but sometimes He can show up earlier, and sometimes He doesn't do anything at all. Man is so strange and unpredictable; it is best just to keep your distance away from Him. Most of the animals in the forest believe that Man is a higher power. It is only the Great Prince and his son Bambi who know the real truth.

After the children had their grim conversation about Man, they started to play again; however, something caught the attention of Geno. He didn't know for sure what he was seeing, but from what he could tell it was a prince, a strange prince that he had never seen before in the meadow. This prince was small, and had a strange red band around his neck. Geno continued to stare at the strange beast which then aroused the attention of his sister.

"I have never seen that prince out on the meadow before," Geno said. "He walks strangely and makes a lot of noise, like a baby."

"I've never seen him before either," Gurri added. "But it's not like princes are interested in us nor are we interested in them."

"Not only does he walk weird," Bonn said. "He has the smell of Man coming off of him which makes me nervous!"

Lana cried to her mother to gain her attention about the stranger. Not long after that, the strange buck caught the attention of every deer in the meadow including two princes named Ronno and Karus. Ronno is a middle-aged prince who walks on a limb because he was wounded by Man long ago. Karus, a younger prince, is always with Ronno mainly for protection. Ronno obtained his respect from the other princes through fear from his brute strength, but some also took pity on him for his disability. Ronno is extremely arrogant and rude. If it weren't for his strength or disability, he would be the least respected deer in the forest. Because the odor of Man was prevalent from the stranger, many were reluctant to meet him; except for the children whose curiosity got the best of them. Faline cried out for them to wait, but they were already standing in front of the strange prince who seemed afraid.

"Hello! How are you? My name is Geno. Do you have a name?" Geno asked in an excited and cheerful manner, but the prince just stood still staring at him. "Don't be afraid, we won't hurt you," Geno assured. His mother and the other does in the meadow finally arrived. Faline called Geno to get back to her side.

"You know better than to run off like that," Faline scolded. She then looked at the strange prince. The other does were whispering to each other commenting on the prince's collar he was wearing.

"He smells like Man."

"He's one of Man's pets."

"Look at that collar."

Finally Faline spoke again and said "come along everyone, leave the poor stranger alone. Can't you see he doesn't want to be bothered?"

All the does were about to leave, but then Ronno and Karus decided to see what all the commotion was about. They walked towards the strange prince, circled him, and asked him questions.

"Hmm, I've never seen you around here before," Ronno said.

"Do you have a name?" Karus asked. The does continued to watch, however, Faline insisted that they leave the stranger alone.

"We're curious, and we just want to know more about the stranger," Ronno told Faline, but Faline knew Karus and Ronno were up to no good. Ronno continued to speak with the prince, but the prince would not say a word back. "What's with the collar? Are you one of Man's pets? Do you know how to speak?" Ronno started to become frustrated. "Hello, I'm speaking to you; don't you know who I am? It's like speaking to a rock Karus," Ronno joked.

Karus laughed and agreed with Ronno. "His mind must be absent," Karus said. Faline, seeing the fear in the stranger's eyes, begged Karus and Ronno to stop harassing him.

Ronno began to grow hostile. "Leave him alone? Don't you know what he will bring? He will bring Man to kill us all! Just look at that collar he's wearing. He will lead Him to us for sure." Ronno argued. He then glared at the stranger and said "you are not welcome here, and you should leave before something awful happens to..."

Ronno paused because out of the corner of his eye he saw someone he did not expect to see; the Great Prince. The Great Prince stood tall and he glared at Ronno. The Great Prince was not alone, his son Bambi was right behind him. Ronno, being the disrespectful deer that he is said "I'm glad you're both here," and tried to convince the Great Prince to run the stranger out of the forest. The Great Prince was not going to dignify Ronno with a response. Instead he walked around the stranger to get a better look at him. Bambi stood quietly aside. The Great Prince with a calm yet commanding voice asked the stranger for his name, but the stranger said nothing. Then the Great Prince asked if he could understand him. Silence again. Ronno tried to convince the Great Prince again that the stranger won't speak because he is in league with Man, and not running him out of the forest will spell doom for everyone.

"The reason why he can't speak is because he doesn't know how to Ronno," Bambi said finally. "You can tell just by looking at him that he doesn't know what any of us are saying. He doesn't know anything about the forest, that's why he walks so sloppy. But he is welcome in our forest."

"Then what are you going to do with him then?" Ronno asked in a disrespectful manner. "I'm not going to teach him anything. I have more important things to do with my time."

"I will teach him." Bambi said. All the does looked at each other with surprise except for Faline who looked at Bambi with concern. "I will teach him how to talk, how to walk, and I will even give him a name."

"What kind of name?" Ronno asked rudely.

"Any kind of name he wants. It's entirely up to him." Bambi said.

"Alright Bambi, but you keep a close eye on him. If he slips up, then that's the end of your little friend," Ronno said. Ronno then turned around and walked briskly away from the herd with Karus. The other deer started to leave as well, but Faline was quite curious as to how Bambi was going to accomplish his task. She told him it's not going to be easy.

"He's not like a child. It will take longer for him to learn, and what if he causes trouble?" Faline asked.

"I will take care of it Faline, trust me." Bambi said. "I could use some help from the children."

Geno and Gurri were thrilled that their father wanted their help, but Faline was still having doubts. "What if he does something? What if he hurts someone?" She asked.

"I will keep a close eye on him, and in no time he will be accepted by everyone." Bambi said.

"Your father doesn't seem thrilled about it," Faline said. Bambi didn't notice that his father already left and that he was alone with Faline, the stranger, and the children.

"He doesn't get thrilled about anything," Bambi smiled.

Faline and the children left Bambi alone with the stranger. Bambi was already finding that helping the stranger was not going to be an easy task as he was trying to get the deer to follow him. Bambi tried nudging him, tossing his head in the direction he wanted him to go, and even pushing him from behind. Finally, the stranger understood and reluctantly followed Bambi to a small stream.


	2. Chapter 2

Once they arrived at the stream the stranger looked very thrilled and didn't hesitate to start drinking its cool water. The stranger drank very quickly which alarmed Bambi.

"Whoa, not so fast their fellow! You don't want to get cramps," Bambi said, but the stranger of course didn't listen and continued to drink rapidly. Bambi smirked and said "boy, you must be really thirsty. I guess it has been a while since you had any water."

Finally, the stranger stopped drinking and gave Bambi a look of gratefulness. Bambi smiled at him and thought if he was that thirsty, then maybe he is really hungry as well. Bambi told the stranger once again to follow him, and this time the strange prince wasn't as reluctant as before. Bambi led him to a small patch of clovers. The stranger appeared unfamiliar with clovers so Bambi had to show him that they were edible.

"It's okay, they're clovers, you eat them," Bambi said. Bambi then tore a mouthful of clovers from the ground and began chewing them. After noticing this, the stranger started sniffing the clovers, and then he took a small bite from the ground. He slowly chewed a couple of times then suddenly he stopped and looked up at Bambi. Bambi looked back at him puzzled. The stranger then smiled and started wolfing down more clovers. Bambi was once again alarmed and advised the stranger not to eat so quickly otherwise he would get a belly ache. The stranger, however, couldn't understand him and continued to eat quickly.

"Do you not get clovers where you're from?" Bambi asked, but the stranger ignored him and continued to gorge on the sweet clovers. Once finished, he let out a small "burp!" and plopped down on the ground. Bambi was surprised to see how lazy the stranger was especially because once you're done eating you go find a place to hide in the shade to digest. However, Bambi noticed the stranger looking at something very intently; he was looking at the sparrows perched on a nearby tree branch.

"Those are birds," Bambi said. The stranger jumped up to his feet and stared at Bambi for a moment. Then to Bambi surprise the stranger uttered something. It wasn't quite a word, but Bambi knew immediately that he was trying to say "bird."

"Bah…bah," the stranger said. Bambi kept encouraging him and soon the strange prince finally said "bird!"

Bambi was very thrilled which excited the stranger who looked at another object; it was a flower. "That's a flower," Bambi said. The stranger looked at him, and was trying to say flower, but Bambi had to help him a little bit. "Yes, flow-er," Bambi said. The stranger took another deep breath and shouted "flower!"

Bambi laughed and cheered. He then taught the stranger to say other things like tree, rock, meadow, pond, and many other things.

It didn't take the stranger long, about three weeks, to learn simple sentences. His doesn't have great grammar, but he could be understood by Bambi. The strange deer trusted Bambi, and would follow him pretty much anywhere. It was import to Bambi not to let the strange buck out of his sight in order to protect him from Ronno or warn him about other dangers. One day Bambi wanted to give the strange prince a name.

"What is name?" the stranger asked.

"A name is something to be called by," Bambi said, but the prince just gave him a blank stare. "What would you like to be called?" Bambi asked. The stranger then looked even more puzzled.

"I not know name," the stranger said. "You give me name."

Bambi was reluctant, and asked the stranger if he was sure that's what he wanted. The strange prince nodded his head, and Bambi started to think of a name for him. After a moment, Bambi finally thought of a name to give the strange prince.

"For now on, you will be known as Amicus," Bambi said. The stranger looked confused. "So I'm Bambi, you are Amicus," Bambi said. The stranger finally understood and grinned at Bambi. "Now that you have a name I will introduce you to some friends of mine."

"What is friend?" Amicus asked

"A friend is someone you know well," Bambi replied.

"Is Bambi friend?"

"Yes, I am your friend," Bambi said. "But you should learn to make new friends; therefore I'll take you to meet some of my friends that I have known most of my life." Bambi said.

"What is life?" Amicus asked, but Bambi told him that he would answer his question later. He then told Amicus to follow him which he did. They arrived at the meadow where the rest of the herd was. Bambi confidently stepped onto the meadow, but Amicus was a little hesitant. Bambi knew the stranger was feeling nervous and reassured him that he would be alright. Amicus trotted along Bambi's side smiling. They both approached Faline and the children who were grazing on the grass. Bambi greeted Faline and the children.

"Hello Bambi how is your new friend?" Faline asked.

"Why don't you ask him yourself, his name is Amicus," Bambi said.

Faline looked and smiled at Amicus and said "hello Amicus, that's a really nice name."

Amicus just stared back not knowing what to say, so Bambi had to help him out. "You say hello back when someone says it to you."

Amicus finally realized what he had to do and he looked at Faline with much excitement and shouted "hello!"

"Her name is Faline," Bambi whispered.

"Faline!" Amicus shouted again. Bambi told him he didn't have to shout. Bambi then introduced the children to Amicus.

"This is Geno," Bambi said.

"Geno!" Amicus uttered.

"And this is Gurri."

"Gurri!"

Gurri couldn't help herself anymore and started chuckling. She then looked at her mother and said "he talks funny mama."

"Now Gurri, that's not very polite," Faline said. "He is still trying to learn, and he is making remarkable progress thanks to your father."

Faline asked Bambi if they could talk to each other alone for a moment. Bambi agreed, and told Amicus to stay where he was.

"I'll be right back," Bambi said. "Children, maybe you can show him around a little bit, but don't wander too far off."

Both the children said "yes father," and they told Amicus to follow them, but Amicus looked back at Bambi concerned. Bambi had to reassure him that he will be alright. Once Amicus and the children left, Faline congratulated Bambi for making great progress with Amicus.

"But don't you think you should be doing the same with your children?" Faline asked Bambi.

"Geno and Gurri already know how to walk through the forest, and they know how to talk," Bambi said. "It seems Amicus has never been in a forest before. He doesn't know anything about the world we live in, and if he's going to be a part of this herd he needs to learn. I will spend more time with the children when they are old enough to be by themselves."

"The fact that he doesn't know much about the forest, and he wears that collar around his neck scares me Bambi," Faline says. "I'm sure I don't need to remind you about my brother Gobo who trusted Man."

"That's not going to happen to Amicus," Bambi said. "I will teach him, and before winter comes he will be like the rest of us."

Geno and Gurri were trying to teach Amicus how to play tag. They would shout "watch us!" to show him how the game was played. Amicus however, was very confused. Amicus was unfamiliar with playing and what it's like to be a child, but he would watch what the children would do with great interest. Geno and Gurri would encourage Amicus to play with them or at the very least frolic through the meadow. It turned out that Amicus, once he tried it, really loved frolicking through the meadow, and it didn't take long for him before he got carried away. Geno shouted at him not to go any further. Amicus stopped in an instant.

"We're not allowed to go so far," Geno said.

"Why," Amicus asked.

"Because mother said not to," Geno replied

"What is mother?" Amicus asked. Geno and Gurri were very surprised at the question.

"You don't know what a mother is?" Gurri asked. "Didn't you have a mother when you were growing up?"

"I don't know…" Amicus said.

"You had to have had a mother," Geno said. "You wouldn't be alive if you didn't because a mother is who gives birth to you and takes care of you when you were a child."

"What is alive?" Amicus asked.

"You are alive right now. Alive means you can see, smell, touch, taste, hear, play games, breath air, eat grass, drink water, and having friends," Geno said. Amicus continued to stand and stare at Geno looking puzzled as always.

"It's hopeless Geno, he doesn't understand you," Gurri said. "How can someone who is older than us know so little about the world? What happened to him? Where did he grow up?"

All of them were startled when they heard the bushes rustling in front of them. The noise was created by Ronno and Karus who were watching Amicus and the children play. They emerged out from the bushes.

"Hello!" Amicus shouted. However, the children became worried because they knew they were in trouble from wandering off too far.

Ronno smiled at Amicus and said "ah, you know how to speak," as he and Karus surrounded him. Ronno then glared at the children which caused them to run away. Amicus tried to follow, but Ronno stood in his way. "Oh, no you stay with us so we can talk."

"You no say 'hello' back. You no polite," Amicus said.

"Oh jeez, you're right, where are my manners Karus?" Ronno asked looking at Karus. He then glared at Amicus and said "I don't say 'hello' to morons like you. Soon enough you'll learn some respect. Don't you know who you're talking to?"

"I know not your name," Amicus said.

"Durrr, 'I know not your name,'" Ronno mocked. Karus laughed and said "he's such a loon! We should just kill him now to rid us of his foolery."

"What is kill?" Amicus asked.

"It means you're dead, the opposite of alive you idiot. Jeez, you can't be that stupid," Ronno said rolling his eyes.

"I like alive. I no want to be dead," Amicus said.

"Well then, I suggest you start calling me 'Ronno.' No, no, you have to call me 'sir' otherwise I will make you dead. Do you understand that?" Ronno screamed at Amicus.

"Leave him alone!" Bambi shouted emerging from the bushes. "He wasn't bothering you Ronno so stop threatening him." Amicus was thrilled to see Bambi and immediately ran towards him.

"Hello Bambi!"

"Hello Amicus, stand beside me here," Bambi commanded. Amicus did what he was told and stood to the left of Bambi.

"Well, look at what the wind blew my way," Ronno said. "Bambi, what an unpleasant surprise. Me and Karus were only teaching your pet about manners." Bambi didn't say anything as he turned around and walked the other direction with Amicus following him. "Hey, if he comes anywhere near my territory again, I will kill him!"

Bambi led Amicus back to the clover patch. Amicus began eating, but Bambi wanted to have a serious talk with him.

"You need to be careful where you go Amicus," Bambi said. "If you wander off to far you will end up in trouble like today."

Amicus asked with a mouthful of clovers "what is trouble?"

"Trouble is when your life is being threatened," Bambi said. "I know I haven't taught you what life is because it's something that can't be taught by words or actions. Life is something you experience for yourself. During your life you will learn new things, gain friendships, and find love. Do you understand?"Amicus just continued to stare at Bambi. This didn't offend Bambi because even though Amicus didn't understand, he was still listening. "You should get some rest because tomorrow I am going to teach you about danger."


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright guys, chapter 3, the story gets a little more interesting. Don't forget to write a review. Feedback is always appreciated.**

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Missing

Early next morning, Bambi woke up from his usual slumber, stood up and started walking towards his favorite clover patch. Of course, however, he had to go wake up Amicus as well for he had an important lesson to teach him; danger. Bambi felt that this was an important subject to touch up on with Amicus because last fall Faline's brother Gobo was killed by forgetting what danger was. Sure, Gobo new that the fox, the wolf, and the cougar were dangerous, but what he had forgotten was the danger of Man which consequently led him to his demise. So in order to prevent the same fate for his new friend, Bambi was going to have to teach Amicus a lesson he should never forget.

Anxious to get started, Bambi quickly arrived to where he had thought Amicus had bed down for the evening, but there was a problem; Amicus was not there. The only thing that was there was the stench of Man, which is not common for this time of year. Bambi's first thought was Amicus must already be at the clover patch, gorging himself again to another stomach ache no doubt. So Bambi headed to the clover patch, but Amicus wasn't their either. He then traveled to the stream, and again Amicus wasn't there. Bambi then started to become worried, but he had one more place to check; the meadow.

Bambi arrived at the meadow where he hoped to find Amicus, but the meadow was completely empty. All the animals were hiding from the smell of Man. However, he did spot Faline and the children on the edge of the meadow nibbling on the grass. Bambi wondered if they perhaps seen Amicus, so he gingerly approached them because of the possibility of Man being in the forest. He greeted Faline, Gurri, and Geno and asked them if they had seen Amicus.

"He's missing?" Faline asked. "He couldn't have gotten far since he doesn't really know his way around the forest."

Bambi agreed, but then he suddenly remembered what Ronno said yesterday. Maybe Ronno had something to do with Amicus's disappearance. Bambi told his family that he had to go and to remain on the lookout for Man. Bambi didn't want to run through the meadow, so he had to take the long way around the edge in order to remain hidden from any possible dangers. Once he entered Ronno's territory he prepared himself for a vicious conflict. Ronno, who just finished his morning meal, was lying in his bedding area underneath a crabapple tree. Bambi's presents was surely not welcomed.

"What are you doing here in my territory?" Ronno snarled.

"Where is he Ronno?" Bambi demanded. "Where is Amicus? I know what you said to him yesterday."

"He's missing? Well good riddance," Ronno said. "You smell that in the air? That is what he is bringing to our forest; death. I'm telling you Bambi, he is in league with Man, and he will tell Him where we are, and we will all die. He's probably telling Him right now. Why do you put so much trust in strangers?"

"Why do you put so little trust in strangers?" Bambi asked.

"So I can survive," Ronno said. "Now, if you don't have anything extremely pressing to tell me, then I should have to ask you to leave. I haven't seen your stupid friend all morning, and if I did I would have already killed him and informed you about it. So if you don't mind I would like to get back to my after-meal nap that you interrupted."

Bambi turned around and left. As arrogant as Ronno was, Bambi knew that he was telling the truth. Although he was disappointed that Amicus was still missing, he was relieved to know that Ronno didn't kill him. He wandered back to his territory trying to think where Amicus could have gone. He left no scent, and no trail. All Bambi could smell was the familiar stench of Man, which was starting to dissipate. Bambi thought about it so much that he forgot to eat his breakfast. He though if he ate something, then maybe it will help him think. So he walked to his clover patch and started eating until he heard a shrill voice up above. It was a squirrel.

"Are you still looking for your friend?" The squirrel asked Bambi.

"Have you seen him?" Bambi responded.

"Man killed him last night, and took his carcass away," the squirrel said.

Bambi was first in denial; thinking he should have taught Amicus to stay away from Man sooner. However, how could Man have killed Amicus without making the hideous noise of the thunder-stick? Bambi asked the squirrel.

"Oh there was a cracking noise like a tree branch snapping," the squirrel said. "But it was very faint. I don't think anyone heard it except for me because I was already awake. They came right through here and carried your friend away. I can't answer anymore questions, I must leave. Goodbye."

The squirrel leaped from tree branch to tree branch until he could no longer be seen by Bambi who was puzzled no doubt. He was beginning to become frustrated because there were still so many unanswered questions like how was Man able to get through the forest without being detected, and how were they able to find Amicus during the night? After thinking for a while, Bambi began to become remorseful. He thought to himself that he had failed Amicus and thought that will be the last time he helped any strangers. On the other hand, he no longer bears the burden of teaching even though Amicus was learning very quickly. Nonetheless, Bambi decided it was best to move on; there was nothing more he could do about poor Amicus.

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A few days had passed, and Bambi was getting ready to bed down for the evening so he could digest his meal that he just ate. He arrived to his favorite spot, which is not too far away from where he used to grow up. He lay down on the ground and started chewing his cud. Amicus was still fresh in his mind, but what he was most concerned with was Man being in the forest so early. He usually comes during the fall, and it was still summer. Was Ronno right perhaps? Was Amicus in league with Him? If so, then why did they kill Amicus? It seems strange to be killed by an ally.

Suddenly, Bambi got a whiff of the familiar stench and instantly became anxious. He is here again, ready to hunt another one of us down, Bambi thought. Bambi was frozen with fear, and would not dare to leave his hiding space. The smell was getting closer. Even though Man are clumsy creatures that make a bunch of sound while traversing through the forest, Bambi couldn't hear or see Him, but they were close. The scent lasted for a while, but it was finally starting to dissipate which relaxed Bambi. It continued to dissipate until finally the scent was gone which meant Man was gone. Bambi thought that these must be new Man creatures that are very stealthy; he didn't hear them at all. Bambi relaxed enough to lay his head down and fell asleep.

During the next morning Bambi woke up and did his usual morning routine, but he shocked beyond belief when he saw something he did not expect. It was a deer lying on the ground lifelessly, and Bambi recognized him immediately; it was Amicus. Amicus lied on the ground on his side with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. He was alive, because Bambi could hear his breath. Amicus had on the same collar he was wearing before around his neck. Another thing that Bambi noticed right away was how quickly Amicus's antlers were growing. They were getting to be as big as Bambi's which can't be possible because Bambi is an older buck.

Bambi tried several times to wake Amicus up because he had a lot of explaining to do. Amicus opened his eyes, and took in a deep breath. He lifted up his head and squinted at Bambi as if he was trying to recognize him again.

"Where am I," Amicus asked.

"You're safe now; back in the forest," Bambi answered.

Amicus tried to stand back up, but he was still groggy. Watching Amicus get up was like watching a new-born fawn trying to get up. Amicus finally made it on his feet, but his legs were shaking. He tried to take a step towards Bambi, but he almost fell over.

"Maybe you should take it a little easy huh?" Bambi said. "I can't imagine where you have been."

"I will be alright," Amicus said. "I'm just a little tired."

"Your speech has improved quite a bit, and you're antlers are coming in nicely," Bambi said. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know. All I remember is falling asleep, and then waking up here," Amicus said.

"You don't remember anything? You were gone for more than three days," Bambi said.

This didn't surprise Amicus because he didn't have any perception of time such as what a day, a week, a season, or a year was. Amicus didn't know what it meant to be gone for a long time. As strange as Amicus looked or how he acted, Bambi was still glad to see that he was still alive. After all, Amicus is still his friend.

It didn't take long for Amicus to snap out of whatever trance he was in, and he followed Bambi to the clover patch for breakfast. It was where Bambi started to notice other strange things about his friend. He would eat and drink more than usual, and he could notice things that Bambi couldn't notice like the sound of the bees buzzing almost a half-a-mile away. He could smell things better than Bambi, and see things better too. He had bigger muscles than Bambi, and his coat was more golden as well. Bambi, however, pass these things off because Amicus was younger so naturally he would be stronger, and his abilities would be better. Suddenly, Amicus heard something in the bushes.

"Do you hear that?" Amicus asked Bambi.

"What is it?" Bambi anxiously asked.

"I don't know, but it's coming closer," Amicus said. He started walking towards the sound which Bambi could not hear. Amicus continued to stare at the bushes for a moment. He could hear a slight growling noise. "Get back!" Amicus shouted at Bambi. Bambi was most curious as to what was going on until finally it was made clear. A cougar jumped out of the bushes, and charged towards Bambi. Bambi turned around and sprinted away. He managed to lose track of the cougar, but he lost track of Amicus as well. Worried that something had happened to him, Bambi ran back hoping nothing bad had happened to Amicus. Bambi was relieved when he saw Amicus again, but something was wrong. Amicus was staring down at something on the ground. Bambi had to walk right next to Amicus to see what it was he was seeing. It was the cougar, and it had been slain.

"Did you do this?" Bambi asked.

"Yes," Amicus said. "You are my friend, and I protect you."

"But we don't kill things," Bambi said.

"Why not?" Amicus asked. "He was going to kill you. Anything that tries to hurt you, I will hurt them instead."


	4. Chapter 4

Since it was such a hot day today, most of the animals including the deer didn't really do much but lay in the shade to escape the sunlight. This, however, did not stop the children from playing in the meadow especially after they stumbled upon a purple blossom patch. They ate all the blossoms they could find then proceeded chasing each other trying to determine who was the fastest. Geno would taunt his sister Gurri saying she couldn't catch him, but Gurri was determine she would win the contest. So she chased him around the entire meadow, but still couldn't catch him. Exhausted, she finally gave up at told her brother that he was the fastest like always.

Their mother, Faline, who was laying in the shade of a pine tree with her friend Rolla, was becoming worried that they may over exert themselves. Rolla reminded Faline that children will always be children and it's best to leave them be.

"We use to do the same thing together, and nothing bad ever happened to us," Rolla said. Rolla had two children of her own; Bonn and Lana who wanted to play hide-and-seek with Geno and Gurri.

"Who wants to be the seeker?" Geno asked. None of the other children wanted to be the seeker because it was more fun to hide. "I guess I'll do it again," Geno said reluctantly "I always do it."

"Which is why you are such a good seeker," Lana said as she smiled at Geno. Arrogantly, Geno agreed with her then told everyone to go ahead and hide. "Don't peek," Lana told him again. Geno smiled and nodded his head.

Gurri, Bonn, and Lana quickly dashed away from Geno who stayed behind and started counting to a hundred. Of course he would count quickly, and didn't really give the rest of the children a chance to hide. He was able to find Lana and Gurri in no time at all because they both hid together, but Bonn was still not to be found. Bonn had previously found a great hiding spot deep inside the forest to the south of the meadow in a small thicket. It was such a great place to hide, Geno had to ask Lana and Gurri for help to look for him.

Bonn continued to hide in the thicket, but something was not right. He couldn't hear the sound of birds chirping. In fact there wasn't anyone in the area except for him, but he soon realized that he was not alone. He picked up the scent of some creature he never smelled before. It first intrigued him, but then he started to become nervous because the scent was getting stronger meaning that whatever this thing was, it was coming closer. Bonn remained as silent as he could as he could now hear footsteps. The pattern of these foots steps were like a deer, but it was faint. Bonn's first assumption was that this creature was Geno, but Bonn knows what Geno smells like, and this thing coming closer was not Geno. Remembering what his mother taught him, Bonn remained still and silent hoping that whatever this thing was would go away. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped which made Bonn curious. He poked his head out slightly from the thicket and looked around. He didn't see anyone. Relived he settled back into the thicket, and thought for a moment that whatever this thing was went away. Without warning he felt someone jump on his back. He felt claws dig into his back before he sprung up and was off like a shot through the forest. He was being chased by his attacker which was a grey fox. The dense brush slowed him down, and the fox was able to catch up with him. The fox jumped on Bonn's back and bit him on his neck. Bonn could feel his flesh being torn by the fox's jaws. Bonn continued to run as fast as he could, kicking his hind legs in order to escape his pursuer.

Geno was wandering though the forest south of the meadow where he could hear the screams of Bonn. Geno was running towards the sound where he finally saw Bonn who had blood oozing down his neck and he was panting in exhaustion. Then Geno saw Bonn's pursuer. The fox was right behind Bonn trying to jump on his back again to deliver the fatal bite to his neck. Geno was awestruck. He never saw anything so gruesome before in his life. Geno though he had to do something to help Bonn, he yelled loudly at the fox so that it would start chasing him instead. The fox, however, ignored Geno because he knew Bonn was already wounded which would make it easy to subdue him. The fox jumped on top of Bonn again and tackled him to the ground. The fox clamped down on Bonn's neck with his jaws. Geno could do nothing, but watch in horror as his friend was being killed.

A buck jumped out from the bushes, and charged the fox. It was Bambi. The fox noticed Bambi charging at him. The fox let go of Bonn, and started running away. Bambi continued to chase the fox until it was out of site. When the fox was gone, Bambi stopped and saw Geno standing over Bonn. Bonn was struggling to catch his breath as blood continued to ooze down his neck. Bambi told Geno to go get Bonn's mother quickly. Geno did as he was told and ran back to the meadow. As Geno ran back to the meadow, tears were pouring from his eyes. He was worried that Bonn wasn't going to survive, and it was heart wrenching to give the news to his mother. Geno arrived to the meadow and found his mother and Rolla along with Lana and Gurri. Faline knew something was wrong when she saw how distressed Geno was. While distressed Geno managed to tell his mother and Rolla what happened, and Rolla demanded to know where her son was. Geno guided Rolla into the forest with Faline following them. Lana and Gurri were told to stay in the meadow until their mothers got back.

When Geno, Rolla, and Faline arrived to where Bonn was attacked by the fox, much to Geno's relief he saw Bonn standing on his feet. Geno dashed over towards Bonn and immediately asked him if he was alright, but Bambi told him that Bonn was unable to speak because his neck was injured and needed to heal. Rolla nuzzled her son as tears fell from her eyes. She was very relieved that Bonn was still alive, but anger began to grow inside her. She was mad at Geno for not helping him sooner and scolded him. Faline was very shocked.

"Rolla, I'm sure there was nothing Geno could have done to prevent this," Faline said. "It was an accident."

Rolla didn't say anything back. Instead she told Bonn to follower her and told everyone else to leave them alone. Geno apologized over and over, but Rolla wouldn't listen. As they were leaving Bonn looked very miserable, and he couldn't hold his head up all the way as he walked. Feelings of guilt flooded Geno's mind as he saw Bonn and his mother walk away.

"Don't worry my son," Faline told Geno. "Wounds will heal, and in time Rolla will get over it. She was just upset. I would be if I saw you like that."

Bambi walked towards Geno and told him "He is a strong lad. He should pull through. Like your mother said it wasn't your fault. There was nothing anyone can do to prevent this, but for now on, you and your friends will stay out of this part of the forest."

Geno nodded his head and followed his mother back to the meadow.

* * *

Bambi wandered back to his home where he left Amicus. Before Bambi set out on his usual patrol in the morning he told Amicus to wait for him because he had a lot of explaining to do after he slain the cougar. However, when Bambi arrived back to his home, Amicus once again had disappeared. This initially worried Bambi, but it also annoyed him because Amicus would act like a child and not do what he was told. Bambi was about to head out to find Amicus again, but he was startled by someone he never would expect to visit him at his home. It was Ronno. Bambi was completely in shock especially to see Ronno's face was bloody, and he had cuts all over his body.

Ronno marched angrily towards Bambi and yelled "look at what your stupid friend did to me Bambi!"

"What happened Ronno?" Bambi asked with great concern.

"What happened? Your friend comes into my territory. Attacks and almost kills me! That's what happened!" Ronno shouted. "He's now taken over my territory."

"Where's Karus?" Bambi asked.

"Why do you care? He's probably dead by now," Ronno said. "Your friend knocked him to the ground and he couldn't get back up. I narrowly escaped. If it wasn't for Karus, I would be dead too. Is this what you have been teaching him?"

"No, absolutely not Ronno," Bambi said. "There must be a mistake. I've always told Amicus never to kill anyone. It's not our nature."

"Well it sure is his nature," Ronno exclaimed.

"Well what about you Ronno, how many times did you threaten to kill him?" Bambi asked.

"You know me Bambi," Ronno said. "You know me more than him, and that I'm all talk. I would never hurt anyone unless my life was in danger. Your friend doesn't know better, he's like a baby. I demand that you convince him to give me my territory back."

"I can't do that Ronno," Bambi said. "He won it from you fair and square. I mean there were two of you, you had the odds in your favor."

"Well, where am I supposed to live then?" Ronno demanded to know.

"If you don't cause any trouble, you may stay in my territory," Bambi said. "Otherwise I don't know where you can go."

Ronno glared at Bambi for a moment, and then he reluctantly accepted Bambi's offer. Bambi told Ronno to lie down to save his energy since he had lost a lot of blood. Ronno collapsed on the ground and didn't say another word before Bambi left to confront Amicus.


	5. Chapter 5

Evening had settled in. Faline, Geno and Gurri were out on the meadow grazing on the grass for dinner. However, Geno didn't have much of an appetite because he was still thinking about what happened to Bonn. He saw him, Lana, and Rolla emerge onto the meadow from the forest to also eat dinner. Bonn could eat the grass, but it was really painful for him from his neck injury. Geno really wanted to go talk to Bonn to apologize again. He asked his mother if he could go over to them.

"I don't think that's a good idea my dear," Faline said. "It would be best if we all didn't talk to Rolla and her children for a while. We will wait for them to come to talk to us."

After Faline was finished speaking she caught a glimpse of Bambi on the meadow and she could see that he was upset. Faline told her children to "wait here, I'll be back," and she trotted next to Bambi and asked him what was wrong.

Bambi stopped and looked at her with much fright in his eyes. "Its Amicus…he took over Ronno's territory."

Faline was extremely shocked and said "how on Earth did he defeat Karus and Ronno both? He's so small."

"He's not small anymore," Bambi said. "Something happened to him, I don't know how to explain it. I'm going over there right now to confront him."

"Be careful," Faline said. Bambi didn't say anything else. He continued to walk into Ronno's territory not knowing what to expect, and that frightened him. He cautiously walked through the crab apple trees that separate the meadow from Ronno's territory. He saw a deer lying on the ground near a thicket. It was Karus, and he didn't look like he was alive. Bambi quickly examined him. He had cuts all over his body from a buck's antlers, he had blood coming out of his nose and mouth, and his left front leg was broken. Bambi was overwhelmed by shock. "How can a deer do this to another?" he thought. Bambi was startled when he heard a voice. Karus was trying to speak.

"Knew you would come. Had to stop him from killing Ronno," Karus said in a painful voice.

"Can you get up Karus?" Bambi asked.

"My leg, it doesn't work. Just leave me here and go away, it's not safe, predators will be able to smell my blood," Karus whispered.

"I need to know where he is Karus, you must tell me," but it was too late. Karus put his head down, his eyes stared at the ground, and he breathed his last breath.

Bambi left Karus's body and continued to look for Amicus. It didn't take long to find him. Amicus was standing in a glade looking at the sunset.

Keeping his distance Bambi spoke to Amicus in the gentlest voice he could speak. "Amicus? Are you okay?" he asked.

Amicus turned around, smiled at Bambi and said "Bambi, I'm so glad to see you my friend. What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

"Your neck of the woods?" Bambi asked trying not to upset Amicus.

"Yes Bambi, Ronno's territory belongs to me now," Amicus said. "You no longer need to worry about him and Karus."

"Karus is dead, and Ronno is severely injured," Bambi said. "Why did you kill Karus?"

"He was going to kill me Bambi," Amicus said raising his voice. Bambi's fear started to elevate as Amicus continued to speak. "He and Ronno are arrogant and despicable. They say nasty things about Bambi so I had to defend your honor. Did I displease you Bambi?" Amicus said as he walked closer to Bambi.

"But we don't kill Amicus. Especially our own kind," Bambi said. "It doesn't matter how rude they are. I wouldn't wish what you did to Karus and Ronno on my worst enemy. How were you able to inflict so much damage to them anyways?"

"I don't know. I use to be small and weak, but now I'm big and strong," Amicus said with a smug smile. "As long as you don't make me angry I will protect you and your family."

Bambi stared at Amicus for a moment. The tension was really high and it made Bambi feel awkward. Bambi then glanced at his collar before speaking again. "Well…I'm glad to hear that," Bambi said.

"I'm Great Prince of the Forest now Bambi, and as long as you accept that you and your family are safe," Amicus said.

"I see, well you should know that the Great Prince of the Forest protects all the deer in the forest, and he would never harm a single soul," Bambi said quivering.

"If anyone else attempts to hurt me, I will kill them as well. And yes that includes you Bambi," Amicus said.

* * *

Bambi returned to his home. Ronno was still lying on ground trying to rest from his wounds. When he noticed Bambi coming back he anxiously ask him if he saw Karus.

"Karus is no longer alive Ronno, I'm sorry," Bambi said in a sorrowful voice.

Ronno shook his head in disbelief and said "he didn't deserve that Bambi, nobody deserves a death like that," Ronno said. He paused for a moment to morn Karus and then asked Bambi "what are you going to do about it?"

"Me?" Bambi asked surprised by the question.

"Yes, you're the son of the Great Prince, you can banish him," Ronno said as anger grew inside him. "Besides you welcomed him into our forest, you're responsible for what he does. I tried telling you over and over again, but you wouldn't listen to me because for some messed up reason you think I'm the bad guy here. Well take a close look at what happened."

"Amicus appointed himself Great Prince now," Bambi said in guilt.

Ronno was shocked. "What? You have to be kidding me? Can he even do that? Oh jeez this day just keeps getting worse and worse."

"I had no choice but to submit to him Ronno, he threatened to kill my family," Bambi said softly.

"Well Karus was my family, and you let that fiend kill him!" Ronno exclaimed.

"Ronno, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am and how much guilt I feel right now," Bambi said. "But blaming me for something that I couldn't possibly know was going to happen is ridiculous. You were right okay, is that what you want to hear? You were right, my kindness is my weakness."

The pair stopped arguing and for a long moment they were in silence. Ronno kept shaking his head and looking up at the sky. Bambi stared at the ground wondering what to do next. Before Bambi could come up with an idea Ronno asked "well what are we going to do about this then?"

"We?" Bambi asked.

Ronno looked Bambi square in the eye and said "yes, what are _we _going to do about this? I would imagine if you're planning something to get our forest back you are going to need my help. So how about you quit stalling and tell me the plan already."

Bambi was taken in by surprise. Of all the deer in the forest, he would never expect Ronno to help him with a predicament. Bambi gathered up his thoughts, but before he said anything, an unexpected guest arrived. It was Bambi's father.

Bambi quickly greeted him before he spoke. "Quite the predicament you got yourself in," The Great Prince said. Ronno barely was able to stumble on his feet and stood next to Bambi and his father. "I'm sorry for your loss son," The Great Prince told Ronno. Ronno didn't say a word as he was humbled by the old prince's presents.

"What do you suggest we do father?" Bambi asked.

The Great Prince quickly answered "that collar he wears tells Man his exact location."

Ronno looked at Bambi and said "Ha! I knew that collar had something to do with Man being in the forest so early. Man has obviously done something to him that gave him all that strength and intelligence."

Bambi's father continued "Ronno is right, Man has done something to Amicus and we should not underestimate his abilities. I witnessed it happening. Man came into the forest, put Amicus to sleep, and then put something inside Amicus."

"So if we can remove the collar off from Amicus, then Man can't find him and make him stronger," Bambi said.

"Wait, is that our only option?" Ronno asked. "I say we go over there now and tear him up!"

"He's got the strength of five deer Ronno," Bambi said. "He would destroy us all if we tried anything like that. I'm the only one who can come close to Amicus to take off his collar. He still trusts me I think."

"We can come with you in case he goes crazy," Ronno said.

"Not practical Ronno," The Great Prince said. "Whatever Man put inside him also heightens his sense of smell, sight, and hearing. He would sense your presents."

"This is my predicament," Bambi said to Ronno. "So I should be the one to resolve it."

"Well let's say hypothetically you do get the collar off," Ronno said. "How do you know he won't retaliate? As crazy as he is, he would be too dangerous to be kept alive, so we must find a way to kill him."

"Absolutely not Ronno!" Bambi exclaimed. "I want to resolve this without more bloodshed."

"Sorry Bambi," Bambi's father said. "But I agree with Ronno. Once Amicus wises up to what you have done, he will go mad. For the sake of your children Bambi, Amicus should not be allowed to live. Besides he is a murderer, and we should not tolerate that behavior."

"It's not his fault father!" Bambi exclaimed. "Man has poisoned his mind. The Amicus I met was gentle and kind, and would never murder anyone."

"That may be Bambi, but what's done is done," The Great Prince said gently. "We cannot have someone who murders our own kind living in our forest. We have enough enemies to worry about. So either he leaves and never returns, or we must take his life."

"But as Bambi pointed out earlier, the three of us won't be able to kill him, so how do we?" Ronno asked.

"He doesn't know about the danger of Man," Bambi said. "He doesn't know when fall comes, Man kills any poor soul ignorant enough to stand out in the meadow."

"So when Man comes, we draw Amicus onto the meadow, he'll think it's his buddies, but instead they will be killers," Ronno said.

"The only problem with that is, it won't be fall for a while," Bambi's father added. "Which is why we must get that collar off him first. Tomorrow morning Bambi, you try to convince him to take it off, at least that way he can't get any more powerful than he is already."


	6. Chapter 6

Bambi woke up early in the morning to the terrible sound of Ronno's snoring. So he decided to get up and get a quick drink of water at the nearby stream. He sense someone else was near and indeed he was correct. It was his father standing in front of him.

"It's time Bambi," The Great Prince said. Bambi nodded his head and went back to wake up Ronno after talking with his father. Ronno was very reluctant to get up because he was very sore from his wounds. He was so sore Bambi had to help him get back up on his feet.

"Are you sure you are alright?" Bambi asked Ronno. Ronno was very stubborn, and didn't want to show pain towards Bambi.

"Well, I've been better," Ronno said sarcastically. He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking again. "Are you scared to go see Amicus?"

"Yes, just because I don't know what to expect," Bambi said.

Ronno nodded his head and said "I would be scared too, and I don't get scared often. Don't try to be a hero, if he shows any hostility towards you, you run as fast as you can."

"I'll be fine Ronno, but there is something I would like you to do for me though," Bambi said. Ronno asked him what he could do. "I would like you to find Faline and hide my family somewhere that is safe in case something happens."

Ronno was completely shocked by this request. "Are you sure she'll listen to me?" Ronno asked.

Bambi smiled and said "once she takes one look at you, and you explained what happened then I'm sure she'll listen. Just try to be tactful."

Ronno smirked then said "I can do that, and Bambi I'm sorry for being such a jerk and an idiot. It's funny how everything bad that has happened united us huh?"

"You know something Ronno?" Bambi asked. "You're in danger of being a good prince."

"Ha! Ha-ha right, me being a good prince? I would never see the day," Ronno said jokingly. "Get out of here Bambi. Good luck." Bambi smiled and quickly walked away to confront Amicus again.

* * *

Ronno entered the meadow. He thought it would be a good place to start looking for Bambi's family. He found Faline, and her children gazing on the grass at the edge of the meadow. Ronno was a bit nervous because he didn't know how Faline was going to react, but if Bambi said she'll understand then there's nothing to lose he thought. He walked slowly towards them.

Faline stopped eating the grass and noticed Ronno approaching her. She started to grow very nervous especially seeing how wounded Ronno was.

"Children, you get behind me now," Faline told Geno and Gurri.

Ronno kept his distance so he wouldn't frighten Faline and the children. He cleared his throat and said "You and the children need to come with me now, and leave the forest," Ronno said. He was trying to be tactful, but it certainly isn't his strongest quality.

"Are you out of your mind Ronno?" Faline asked angrily. "There is no way my children and I are going with you anywhere."

"You don't understand, Bambi asked me to find you and hide you from Amicus," Ronno said. "You and your children are in grave danger. Amicus has already killed Karus, and he almost killed me."

"That's terrible Ronno, but why should I believe you?" Faline asked.

Ronno was a little annoyed with her question and scoffed "well I wasn't born this way you know."

"Where is Bambi," Faline demanded.

"Bambi is on his way to confront Amicus now as we speak," Ronno said. "I know it's going to be hard for you, and I don't blame you, but you must trust me. If Amicus can do this to me, what do you think he'll do to you?"

"Mother, what about Bonn and Lana?" Geno asked.

"Rolla and I are still not on speaking terms Geno," Faline said. She hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "I think we have no choice, but to take our chances with you Ronno. You lead the way and you will be in front of me the whole time otherwise we go somewhere else."

"Whatever it takes Faline," Ronno said. "I promised Bambi I would get you out of here."

"But where would we go?" Faline asked Ronno.

"Just follow me," Ronno said. "We must get far away from here as possible to the east, and meet with the Great Prince. He'll know what to do from there."

Faline let out a huge sigh and looked at her children "alright Geno and Gurri, the both of you stay directly in front of me."

Both Geno and Gurri did as they were told and stood in front of their mother. Faline then looked at Ronno and said "alright Ronno let's go."

Ronno turned around and started walking towards the east while Faline and her children followed him away from the meadow.

* * *

Bambi arrived back to the crabapple trees to look for Amicus. Before entering he saw Karus's body, which had been ravaged by predators and scavengers. Bambi continued to walk inside the forest cautiously. He arrived to the same place he confronted Amicus before, but he was nowhere to be found this time. Bambi paused for a moment to look around. This part of the forest he didn't go into much before because it belonged to Ronno, so he had to quickly familiarize himself with his surroundings in case he needed to leave in a hurry. Suddenly, he heard a voice.

"Hello Bambi," Amicus said as he emerged into the clearing Bambi was standing in. "So nice to see you again my friend. How are things? Come, have breakfast with me."

"Hello Amicus," Bambi said nervously. Bambi tried to restrain himself to not show fear, but Amicus knew he was afraid. "How are?"

Before Bambi could speak again Amicus butted in and said "Why have you come here?" Bambi told him he just wanted to talk. "Just to talk huh? Alright, we'll talk. What is Faline and the children up to I wonder?"

"Eating breakfast I would assume," Bambi said.

Amicus walked closer to Bambi before speaking again. "You know fall is almost upon us," Amicus said. "Soon I will need to pick out a mate, and as the Great Prince I have breeding rights to any female I choose." Amicus stopped and stood in front of Bambi. "And I choose Faline." Bambi was shocked and looked very surprised. "Is there a problem with that, Bambi?"

Bambi gave him a smirk and said "well yeah, Faline is my mate, and she already has children. My children, so you would have to choose someone else. A prince doesn't mate with another prince's mate or mates with a doe who already has children."

"I see. Is that another rule your father has taught you?" Amicus asked.

"No, it's simply ethics," Bambi said. "It's unethical to mate with a doe when she already has children. It's unethical to mate with another prince's mate."

"Ethics eh?" Amicus asked. "I don't know ethics. Besides, things have changed now Bambi. I am the Great Prince, so I'm changing the rules and so called ethics you speak of. I fancy Faline, so she will no longer be your mate, but mine. If it's unethical to mate with a doe that has children then I will kill her children; problem solved. And if Faline doesn't want to mate with me, I will kill her also."

It was hard for Bambi to listen to all of this, but he still played along with Amicus because if Ronno has done what he was told then Faline and the children are no longer in the forest.

"But a price, and certainly a Great Prince would never think about harming anyone for any reason," Bambi said.

"Not even if your life was in danger?" Amicus asked. "Ronno and Karus threatened me all the time, and you did nothing to help me. So I took it upon myself to serve justice to them. This 'a prince can't do this, a prince can't do that,' were all your rules. I'm simply making new rules. You want to try to stop me?"

"I'm not here to try to stop you Amicus," Bambi said.

"That's good, because if you weren't my friend, I would have killed you already," Amicus said.

"I'm just trying to make sense out of what has become of you," Bambi said.

"Well I will tell you what has come of me, Bambi, my friend, my ally," Amicus said. "I have grown more powerful than any other prince in the forest. I can do whatever I want, and nobody can stop me. You say Man is the enemy, but He is not. How can an enemy of mine, bestow such a wonderful gift to me?"

It was clear to Bambi that Amicus's mind was corrupted by whatever Man had gave him. Whatever it was, it made Amicus aggressive, arrogant, power hungry, and even evil. It also appeared that time was not going to matter; Amicus would stay this way until he dies.

When Amicus was done speaking he brought his head to his side and scratched his neck with his right-rear hoof.

"That collar; does it get itchy a lot?" Bambi asked.

Amicus brought his head back up and grinned at Bambi before saying "yes, it does. It's quite uncomfortable."

"What if someone were to take it off of you?" Bambi asked. "That would certainly ease your discomfort."

"Indeed it would Bambi," Amicus said with a smug smile. "But I'm not going to allow you to take it off. You see, I realize that Man uses this collar to find me in order to make me strong. If I want to get stronger, I will need to leave this collar on."

"Suit yourself then," Bambi said trying to be careful not to reveal his plan. "I must be leaving; I have a lot of tasks to accomplish."

Amicus looked at Bambi with much skepticism and said "indeed, well perhaps we can have breakfast another time then. While you're doing your task, I think I'll go visit Faline, and tell her the good news."

"You do that," Bambi said before turning around and leaving. At first he walked slow, but then started to speed up. Once he left Amicus's territory he turned around to make sure Amicus didn't see him then as fast as he could he ran to the east hoping that Ronno had done everything right.


	7. Chapter 7

Ronno was walking deep inside the east forest with Faline and her children following him. He actually didn't know where to go, all he was told was to go inside the east forest until he met the Great Prince. Worried, Faline walked next to Ronno after telling her children to linger behind, and asked him where he was taking them.

"I'm not exactly sure, Faline," Ronno said with a deep gentle voice. He was rapidly growing weary due to his wounds. He didn't realize that he had several bruised ribs which were causing him pain every time he took a breath. "I assumed the Great Prince would find us."

Faline could sense that Ronno was in pain and asked him "are you sure you're all right? Maybe we should rest for a moment."

"I'll be fine," Ronno said taking a deep wheezing breath. "We're still in danger. That monster, whatever he is, will be able to find us if we rest now."

"Why are you doing this Ronno?" Faline asked.

"Because Bambi took me in and helped me. So I guess I owe him one," Ronno said.

"Thank you, I didn't realize you could be so compassionate," Faline said.

"I'm not compassionate nor am I good. Besides one good deed doesn't redeem me of all the bad things I have done in my life," Ronno said.

"Well I think there's more to you than meets the eye," Faline said with a warm smile.

Faline slowed down so her children could catch up while Ronno kept walking forward to lead them. Geno and Gurri were growing restless and kept asking their mother where they were going. Faline would reassure them that they didn't have to walk much further.

"Why did we leave mother?" Geno asked.

Faline let out a sigh and said "it's not safe for us to live there anymore."

"But why? Lana and Bonn didn't have to leave," Geno said.

"Bonn and Lana are not in danger as we are," Faline said.

"Does it have to do with Amicus? I heard you and Ronno talking about it," Geno said.

"Yes my dear," Faline said. "Amicus has grown very strong and dangerous. We have to wait until he leaves to return home."

"I don't understand mother," Geno said.

"It's hard to understand I know, but it's best not to worry about it now," Faline said.

Faline saw Ronno stop for some reason. She looked further and saw the bushes rustling ahead of him. Faline told her children to quickly get behind her. Ronno was preparing himself to fight if he had to until he saw what emerged from the bushes; the Great Prince. Ronno became instantly relieved as well as Faline who was happy to see the old prince.

The Great Prince didn't waste any time "come, follow me everyone," he said. Everyone started to follow the Great Prince. Faline and the children were right behind him while Ronno was in the back trying to keep up. "Come Ronno, we cannot dawdle."

"He's hurt really bad," Faline told the old prince gently.

"I know, but once we reach our destination he will be able to rest," the Great Prince said.

"Where are we going?" Faline asked.

"You shall live among my friend Boris and his herd," the Great Prince said. "You and the children will be safe there."

"When can we return to our home?" Faline asked.

"I don't know," the Great Prince said softly.

That was the last thing anyone said for a while. They walked almost all day, and the forest was becoming dark with night soon approaching. They crossed streams, meadows, and dense forest which made the going even slower. Geno, Gurri, and their mother were becoming tired and restless. Ronno was becoming weaker with each step. Finally the Great Prince stopped and let them rest for a while. Ronno, who could barely walked collapsed to the ground and took deep wheezing breaths.

Alarmed, the Great Prince stood over him and said "you need to get back on your feet son."

"I can't…I can't go on," Ronno said wheezing.

The Great Prince kept encouraging him until he heard a voice from behind "who goes there? Who are you all?"

The Great Prince turned around saw three young princes standing in front of everyone. One of them recognized the Great Prince immediately and said "you?"

"We come seeking your help, I need to speak with Boris," the Great Prince commanded.

"Yes of course," the prince said. "Follow us."

The Great Prince turned around and told Ronno to get back up. Ronno tried, but he couldn't make it. The prince saw Ronno struggling and commanded the other two princes to help him out.

"C'mon buddy, we got you," they said trying to encourage Ronno back onto his feet. With the princes help Ronno finally stood up. One of the princes allowed Ronno to lean on him to help him walk.

The Great Prince then told Faline and the children to "come, it's not much further now."

"My name is Kuzma," the prince said. "I am Boris's son. Come, I will take you to him."

Kuzma led everyone to a large thicket and called for his father "father, we have company." Ronno once again collapse to the ground wheezing.

Boris emerged from the thicket and was thrilled to see the Great Prince. "Welcome! Welcome! How are you?" Boris shouted in glee. Boris looked at Ronno and was shocked by the condition he was in. "My goodness! What on Earth happened to you my friend?"

Ronno couldn't look up to acknowledge him and continued to take deep wheezing breaths.

"We come seeking your protection," the Great Prince said which caught Boris's attention. "This is Ronno, and he's very sick, he needs to rest."

"Of course my friend anything for you," Boris said loudly. "My son and his friends will take great care of Ronno. Is he your son?"

"No, my son is Bambi," the Great Prince said. "He should be arriving shortly as well."

"We will keep a look out for him, but who's this guy then?" Boris asked looking at Ronno.

"Ronno is a friend of the family," Faline said.

Boris looked at Faline and gave her a warm grin. "My, you are really gorgeous," Boris told Faline. Faline blushed, and Boris looked the Great Prince. "Is she your daughter?" he asked the Great Prince.

"Faline is the mother of my grandchildren," the Great Prince said.

"Grandchildren? You have grandchildren?" Boris said with much enthusiasm. He looked at Geno and Gurri and said "awe, look at how cute they are eh?" Boris then looked at his son Kuzma and asked "when will I get grandchildren huh? Ha ha!" Kuzma rolled his eyes and shook his head with a small grin.

"Is it alright if my family stays here with you and your family?" the Great Prince asked.

Boris's eyes lit up. "Are you kidding? Of course they can stay. Stay as long as you like, but why the unusual request?"

"They need protection," the Great Prince said.

"Protection? Protection from what if you don't mind me asking," Boris said.

"From a price with the strength of 5 princes, and extremely aggressive," the Great Prince said.

"I see," Boris said. He glanced at Ronno again. "This prince you speak of…is that what got him?" Boris asked the Great Prince again. The Great Prince nodded his head. "Well you have nothing to worry about; my son and his friends will look after you all. Come, I will show you where you all can bed down, you must be tired after your long journey."

Faline and the children followed Boris with the Great Prince right behind them. Boris first led them to a meadow, and showed them some of the clover patches in case they were hungry. He then led them to the north to a small thicket.

"This is where my mother raised me and my brother, and you are welcome to stay here," Boris told Faline.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality," Faline said.

"My child, you don't have to thank me," Boris said. "The pleasure is mine to have you stay with us. Have a good night, and if you need anything you come find Uncle Boris huh? Ha ha!"

Boris turned around and wandered back to his thicket. As exhausted as they were, Geno and Gurri wasted no time to lie in the soft grass inside the thicket.

"I will be around too if you need anything," the Great Prince told Faline.

"What about Bambi?" Faline asked.

"For now we'll wait for his arrival, and then take it from there," the Great Prince said. "Boris is a little off as you can tell, but he will keep you, Geno, and Gurri safe."

The Great Prince left Faline and the children alone. Faline entered the thicket and laid next to Geno and Gurri who were already fast asleep. She put her head down beside them and fell asleep as well.

* * *

Faline awoke from her slumber when she heard a noise outside the thicket. She looked very closely to see what was making the noise. She could see the silhouette of a prince, and initially thought it was Kuzma or his friends on guard. She then caught the scent of the prince and it was very familiar. She slowly got up so she wouldn't disturb Geno and Gurri to investigate. She walked towards the prince, and pretty soon it was made clear to her who it was; Bambi. She called out his name in relief, and nestled her head underneath his chin.

"I'm so glad you and the children are safe," Bambi said.

"Were you able to talk sense into Amicus?" Faline asked looking into Bambi's eyes.

"No, there is no way to talk sense to him. The friend I once knew is gone forever," Bambi said.

Faline walked back to the thicket with Bambi following her. She laid next to the children again and Bambi laid beside her. She nuzzled Bambi beneath his neck again and said "goodnight" before laying her head down next to the children. Bambi then placed his head next to Faline's, and they all slept together as one family.


	8. Chapter 8

Early the next morning, Bambi, the Great Prince, and Boris were having a conversation inside the meadow while Faline and the children were eating breakfast. The Great Prince was relieved to see Bambi, and Boris was ecstatic to meet Bambi for the first time. Bambi was curious to know what had happened to Ronno.

"He's a strong lad," Boris said. "I have my son and his friends watching him right now since he is vulnerable to predators, but he should pull through just fine."

"He became very exhausted before we arrived," the Great Prince added. "Did you have any luck with Amicus?"

Bambi looked at the Great Prince with a grim look on his face. "There is no reasoning with Amicus," Bambi said. "It's as if something has possessed him to make him evil. What are we to do?"

"We wait until fall when Man comes again," the Great Prince said. "Amicus thinks Man is safe, but he will be in for a rude awakening."

"What if that fails?" Bambi had to ask.

"He has never seen a winter before, so since he doesn't know how to properly prepare then he will surely die," the Great Prince said.

"What if he figures out a way to survive?" Bambi asked again which annoyed the Great Prince. "Are we to live the rest of our lives here?"

Boris became offended with the remark, and asked with a smirk "and what is so wrong with my forest young prince?"

"I didn't mean to offend," Bambi said. "But you must understand that I grew up there, and I want my children, and their children to grow up there as well. That stretch of forest has much meaning to me and my family, and we have many friends there that we can't abandon."

"No offense was taken Bambi," Boris said with a chuckle. "If someone came into my forest and tried to force me out, then I would do the same exact thing you're doing now."

All three deer were abruptly interrupted as Ronno, who was feeling much better now after resting, walked to them along with Kuzma. Everyone looked at Ronno waiting for him to say something.

Ronno glanced at everyone before saying "well, when are we going to get this bastard and go home?"

Everyone, except the Great Prince, erupted in laughter. Boris walked closer to Ronno and said "I really admire your spirit, but it sounds like you will need more than that to vanquish your enemy."

"You're right," Ronno said with enthusiasm. "We need a plan. With you, your son, and his friends we have enough princes to put that plan into action."

"What are you trying to say Ronno?" Bambi asked. "That we go in there, and try to defeat Amicus ourselves? Do I really need to remind you what had happened to Karus, and what he almost did to you?"

"I was born in that forest, and I will die in that forest," Ronno said in a firm manner towards Bambi. "Even if that means I die in combat. I mean what are you going to do? Wait until Amicus dies of old age? How many winters is that going to be, huh?"

The Great Prince finally spoke again, and said "I too admire your enthusiasm Ronno, and as much as I hate to admit it you are absolutely right. We can't wait. That is our home, and we are not about to let one deer push us out of it. If we are to have any chance to regain it back, then we must meet Amicus in combat and try to vanquish him ourselves."

"I can't believe that you're actually considering that father," Bambi said.

"Silence Bambi," the Great Prince scolded.

"Yeah," Ronno said glaring at Bambi. "Shut up. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in this mess right now. And since you failed to fix your mistake, we have to fix it for you."

"Must you constantly remind me Ronno?" Bambi said.

"Must you constantly remind me of Karus?" Ronno answered back.

Ronno and Bambi's argument continued to escalate, but the Great Prince grew very weary of it and shouted "will the both of you please be silent! We're not going to get anywhere by arguing. There was nothing nobody could have done to prevent this. This is Man's doing, don't forget that."

Once everyone calmed down, Boris then spoke softly in a curious manner and asked "what do you all proposed that we do then?"

* * *

Faline, Geno, and Gurri were still having breakfast on the southern edge of the meadow. They met with a few other does, and their children who wanted to play with Geno and Gurri. Gurri gladly accepted, but Geno was feeling homesick and wanted to be left alone.

"What's the matter brother?" Gurri asked.

"I can't stop thinking about Bonn and Lana," Geno said softly. "What will happen to them? I want to go back and speak with them, and bring them here."

"That's crazy Geno," Gurri exclaimed. "Mother would never allow you to do that. Remember what she said? It's too dangerous to go back."

"Then that means that Lana and Bonn are in danger," Geno said. "I must help them."

"What do you plan to do?" Gurri asked. "I hope nothing that will get you hurt or worse."

"I'm going to sneak out of here during the middle of the night," Geno said. "Make my way back to our forest, and bring Bonn and Lana back."

"What if Rolla doesn't want to listen to you?" Gurri asked. "She still blames you for what happened to Bonn."

"If she wants to stay, then that's her problem," Geno said. "I'm going back Gurri. Please don't tell anyone, and especially mother. I should be back before she even wakes up, so there is no need to worry her."

In the middle of the night, Geno waited for his mother and sister to fall completely asleep. He stood up as slowly as he could; being careful not to disturb them, however Gurri, knowing that her brother was leaving, pretended to be asleep. She raised her head and said "be careful," which alarmed Geno. He turned around and told her to be quiet so she wouldn't wake their mother. Geno then trotted off into the darkness of the forest.

Kuzma and his friends were on guard duty, and were patrolling the outer-rim of the meadow. Geno had to be careful not to draw their attention as he continued to sneak out. Once Geno finally escaped he started to run back to his home where he hoped to find Lana and Bonn.

Geno ran almost the entire way taking short breaks here and there to make it back to the meadow he knew very well. In order to save time, he had to run across it in order to get to the thicket that Lana and Bonn usually rest in. Geno was halfway across the meadow, but something suddenly stood up which caused him to stop. Someone was standing in front of him. It was Amicus.

"Hello Geno," Amicus said. Geno didn't say a word back as fear started to take over his body. "Not going to say hello back?" Amicus looked to his left, and then to his right. "Where is your mother? I must speak with her. It's very important?"

"She's asleep," Geno squeaked.

"Is she now?" Amicus asked with much skepticism. "That's funny because I tried to meet her at the thicket, but she wasn't there along with your sister. I wonder where they are. Since you're still here perhaps you can tell me?"

Geno paused for a moment to come up with a fib to tell Amicus. "I don't know either Amicus, you see I'm trying to look for them as well."

Amicus glared at Geno as if you could see right through Geno's lie and asked "do you remember what you told me about living?" Geno slowly nodded his head as tension grew within him. "Well if that is something you truly value then I suggest you tell me the truth Geno."

_Crack!_

Something hit Geno's left shoulder. Startled, he ran away immediately, but Amicus hesitated for a moment wondering what had happened. Another sharp loud noise was heard, and something hit Amicus in the chest. Amicus finally turned around to run, but he didn't get far until he became very drowsy, and he collapsed on the meadow asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Dawn fell upon the forest, but it wasn't a peaceful morning. Faline was running around the entire meadow trying to find Geno. She would call out his name several times trying to find him, but the only answer she received was silence. Watching her mother act so frantically, guilt inside Gurri began to grow, but she promised Geno not to tell no matter what. The other does helped Faline search for Geno as well, but Gurri knew it wasn't going to help. The commotion of course did not go unnoticed by the princes. Bambi walked in front of Faline to stop her and to ask what was happening.

"Geno is missing! I can't find him!" Faline exclaimed.

"Whoa, whoa, what do you mean he's missing?" Bambi asked.

"He was asleep with me and Gurri in the thicket, and when I woke up he was gone," Faline said in a distressed manner.

"Where have you searched?" Bambi asked.

"We searched the entire meadow, the river, the forest around the meadow," Faline said. "Nobody has seen him or knows where he went."

"Okay, okay, I'm sure he hadn't got far," Bambi said trying to calm Faline. "He might have fallen asleep somewhere, and he just hasn't woken up yet. You know how he can get sometimes. Where's Gurri? Maybe she saw something."

Bambi saw Gurri still standing on the edge of the meadow watching everyone look for Geno. To Bambi it seemed liked she wasn't as concerned as everyone else that Geno was missing. So he walked to her with Faline right behind him. He stood in front of Gurri, gave her a gentle smile, and asked her if she had seen Geno.

"No father," Gurri whispered.

"Well you must have seen him last night before you fell asleep," Bambi said. "Did he say anything to you like where he might have went off to?"

"I don't know father," Gurri said.

Bambi could sense she was increasingly becoming distressed. "Gurri, it is really important that you tell us where he went. He could be in trouble."

"He went home," Gurri said. Bambi and Faline looked at each other, and instantly became worried.

"Why didn't you tell this to me before?" Faline asked Gurri in a firm tone.

"I'm sorry mother, I promised him that I wouldn't tell where he was going," Gurri said. "He said he was going to be back before dawn."

Bambi grew curious and asked Gurri "why on Earth would he want to go back home?"

"He was going to get Lana and Bonn," Gurri answered.

Bambi was shocked since he finally realized the gravity of the situation. If Geno had gone back to the forest, then it is possible that Amicus was holding him hostage or worse. Without saying goodbye, Bambi left Gurri and Faline alone to tell his father what had happened. Whatever his father and the other princes were planning, they now had to be quick about it in order to save Geno's life. Bambi found his father with Ronno, Boris, and Kuzma and his friends. He told him about Geno, and was anxious to proceed with their plan.

"We need to be well prepared Bambi before we face Amicus," the Great Prince said. "We have to rehearse over and over again until we're perfect. Remember, we only get one chance at this so we must not fail."

"By the time we're ready he may kill Geno by then," Bambi exclaimed. "Also, Faline is worried to death about him."

"Bambi, the moment Amicus sees you, you will be dead too," Ronno said. "It's unfortunate that your child was that foolish to go back, but there's nothing we can do about it until we're ready to face Amicus."

Bambi was greatly offended by Ronno's remark, but before he could say anything Kuzma spoke softly and said "I'll go and find him." Everyone looked at him in awe. "Amicus doesn't know me. I can go and find Geno while the rest of you prepare."

"You can't go," Ronno said. "You are integral to our plan."

"I will go to make sure the young prince is alive and well or perhaps bring him back," Kuzma said. "I will return, and we can continue with our plan."

"You would go all by yourself Kuzma," Boris asked.

"Yes father I think it would be better if we were discrete," Kuzma said.

Ronno chuckled at the idea, but everyone else knew that Kuzma plan could possibly work. It would at least ease everyone's worry about Geno, and they could still carry on their original plan. So it was decided that Kuzma would leave to go find Geno. If he wasn't back by next dawn then the rest of the princes would proceed with their plan to eliminate Amicus.

It was nearly dusk when Kuzma approached the Great Prince's meadow not expecting what to find, but when he looked upon the meadow the mood was quite relaxed. He stepped out on the meadow to find children playing. This didn't seem like a dangerous place he thought. His presents did not go unnoticed. He was a strange deer to everyone else on the meadow, and it attracted the attention of one doe in particular. She approached him and asked him who he was.

"I'm looking for Bambi's son Geno?" Kuzma answered. He did not have any expression on his face mainly because he was shocked at how calm everything was. Bambi made it sound like he was walking into a battle.

"Why am I not surprised?" the doe said in a sarcastic manner. Kuzma looked at her puzzled at the question. "What is your name? My name is Rolla."

"I'm Kuzma, and I didn't expect you all to be out and about. What happened here?" Kuzma asked.

"That fiend Amicus is gone," Rolla said. "Man came into the forest early in the morning and took him away, but if you are looking for Geno I'm afraid you're too late. Man took him away too."

After hearing the news Kuzma immediately left and headed back to his forest. However, he wasn't even halfway back and he could smell the stench of Man in the forest, and it was getting stronger as time passed. He heard a noise in the distance which made him stop dead in his tracks. He erected his ears to hear any other noises, and scanned the forest thoroughly with his eyes wide open to see what was in the distance. He couldn't see anything because the forest was really dense with bushes and trees. His natural instinct was to run, but his sense of curiosity took over him causing him to remain still. After not hearing or seeing anything for a while the smell of Man started to dissipate to the point where he could not smell it anymore. He slowly started to walk again, but instead in the direction of home, he wandered to where he could hear the sounds. He was curious, but extremely cautious while treading through the forest. After walking slowly for a few moments, he could finally see something in the bushes. It was small, and it smelled like a deer. In fact the scent was familiar to him because he smelled it before. He walked closer and could see a fawn in the bushes and immediately recognized him as Geno. Geno was in a deep trance though, so Kuzma tried to wake him up by nudging Geno with his nose. It took a while, but Geno finally opened his eyes, looked up, and immediately became horrified. He jumped up in the air running around aimlessly screaming "where am I?" This frightened Kuzma who never seen anybody act that way. He was frantically trying to calm Geno down.

"Geno, calm down, it is only I, Kuzma. Don't you remember me?" Kuzma exclaimed. "You're in the forest."

Geno stopped for a moment. "Kuzma?" he asked while trying to catch his breath. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing young prince," Kuzma said. "But none of that matters now. My job is to bring you back to my forest and reunite you with your mother and father. Come, follow me."

Kuzma turned around and started walking home, but Geno turned his head for a moment then said "wait, I still need to get Bonn and Lana."

"I will not allow you to do that Geno," Kuzma said. "We need to reach my forest before dawn to tell everyone that your enemy is dead and that all of you can return to your forest."

Geno, who was still out of breath, said "no, Amicus still lives. My father was right…Man did do something to him. I witnessed it myself. All my friends are in danger…"

"What on Earth are you talking about?" Kuzma asked. "I was talking to one of the does in your meadow, and she said that Amicus was taken by Man."

"Yes taken, but not killed," Geno exclaimed. "He is back in the forest."

"If what you are saying is true, then we must not waste time," Kuzma said. "We must return to my forest, and tell everyone what has happened."

"But what about everyone in my forest?" Geno asked. "Amicus is going to kill them unless we do something."

"Which is why we came up with a plan to stop him," Kuzma said. "And if we don't hurry to warn the others, they will start their plan and be at a total disadvantage."

Geno finally understood and followed Kuzma back to his forest. However, Geno was still groggy so the going was slow. Kuzma encouraged Geno to hurry because it was late at night, and dawn was rapidly approaching.

"Come Geno, it is not far now. You can make it," Kuzma said.

Just as dawn broke over the horizon, Geno and Kuzma finally made it back to the forest where they meet all the other princes. Kuzma reunited with his father Boris who was very glad to see Kuzma, but jokingly asked why it took so long. Bambi was overjoyed to see Geno back and alive, but angry at him for leaving without permission.

"What were you thinking?" Bambi exclaimed. Geno bowed his head in shame for leaving, but he told his father his reason. "That was very risky of you Geno. What if something happened?"

"Something did happen father," Geno said. This caught the attention of not only Bambi, but it caught the attention of the Great Prince, Boris, Ronno, and Kuzma too.

"What happened Geno?" Bambi asked.


	10. Chapter 10

Geno began telling his story by first remembering that he was talking to Amicus on the meadow, and then something hit him on the shoulder. Whatever hit him wasn't painful, but it was startling and caused him to run away. He didn't run far until he started feeling loopy in the head. The next thing he remembered was being in very strange surroundings. An area he has never seen before in his life and it frightened him. The first thing he noticed when he came to was he couldn't move at all. Something like a vine was holding him down on a surface that was smooth and cold. He couldn't even move his head. He then realized something very alarming. An object was stuck in his throat, but he could still breathe. Actually he found that he was breathing better with it, but it was still terrifying to him because it was a sensation that he had never felt before. Trying to escape the strange vines that were holding him down was impossible because he felt so tired. In fact he was so tired he would fall asleep and wake up in the same place over and over again. He could then hear footsteps all around him, and strange noises. He then realized it was Man making these noises. They were talking to each other just like deer do, but of course he couldn't understand what they were saying. He heard other things to like a constant repetitive chirp of the strangest bird he ever heard, the sound of wind that he couldn't feel, and other noises that were so new to him he couldn't even describe them. He could see things too that he also felt were hard to describe however, the area that he was in was bright all the time, and he could see Man walking back and forth in front of him. He then became terrified when Man stood right in front of him, forced his eyes open with His paws, and shined a light so bright in his eye that it temporarily blinded him.

A male and female scientist was standing directly over Geno who was strapped down tightly on a stainless steel lab table in the center of a small examination room. The examination room was filled with glassware and other equipment on the countertops. The female scientist was examining his eyes to check for consciousness. What Geno didn't notice was that the scientists gave him a saline lock on his left shoulder which was connected to fluids and tranquilizer antidote. To allow for better breathing, they stuck a nylon tube down his throat that was feeding Geno's lungs with extra air.

"Doctor this one is awake," the female scientist said.

"Good," the Doctor said entering the examination room. "But what happened to him? Why is he here in the first place?"

"That was my fault Doctor," the male scientist said. "I was trying to tranquilize subject seven, but the dart hit low and nabbed this little guy instead."

"We had to immediately give him antidote," the female scientist said.

"But why is he here?" the Doctor asked.

"The dose that was given to him was highly concentrated, and was meant for subject seven. We wanted to keep this little guy under observation just in case," the male scientist said.

"And how is subject seven doing by the way?" the Doctor asked.

"He is doing fine," the male scientist said. "We have him in the next room if you want to take a look at him."

"Yes, that would be great," the Doctor said.

The doctor and the scientists left Geno alone as they left his examination room, headed down the hallway, and entered another examination room with Amicus (subject seven) in it. The female scientist checked his eyes the same way she checked Geno's eyes for consciousness. Amicus was still heavily sedated. He too was strapped down tightly on a lab table with a nylon tube sticking out of his mouth and a saline lock on his left shoulder.

"He's still heavily sedated Doctor," the female scientist said. "You may safely examine him."

"Thank you," the Doctor said. "My, has he made some wonderful progress hasn't he?"

"He certainly has Doctor," the male scientist said. "He has improved hearing, vision, and smell. He has over five times the strength of an average male deer, and he is much faster. His learning skills are improving at a geometric rate."

"So you're saying that this is some super smart deer?" the Doctor asked in a sarcastic manner.

"I wouldn't say super smart, but from our observations he seems to be more cunning than the other deer," the female scientist said.

"What about aggressiveness?" the Doctor asked.

"Much higher, much better," the male scientist said. "In fact we have observed him as being the herd leader. He even has his own harem of does."

"That's terrific!" the Doctor exclaimed. "So the new serum works then?"

"Well…we have noticed some side-effects," the female scientist said which irritated the male scientist. "We have observed homicidal tendencies in subject seven…"

A concerned look grew on the Doctor's face, but the male scientist butted in and said "yes, but those were on very rare occasions. It could have been a fluke."

"I have to present a serum to the board that actually works so we can get the grant," the Doctor said. "Besides we can't have a bunch of homicidal deer running around the forest or anywhere for that matter. Think of the impact that would have on the ecosystem. The point of the serum was to make deer stronger, faster, and more cunning so they can better evade predators and improve their survivability."

"What if we release him back in the wild again, and run some more tests?" the male scientist insisted. "That way we can prove that it was only a fluke, and things like this happen sometime when male deer try to go after territory."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said. "I am shutting down the program indefinitely, and we're going to move on to other things that will make money for us." The doctor pointed at Amicus and said "I want that thing destroyed immediately." After the Doctor was done speaking he left the room leaving the male and the female scientist alone.

"I can't believe you had to go and say that," the male scientist said to the female.

"Okay, so we lie to the Doctor, and he presents a serum that supposedly works. We get the grant, but instantly lose it over law suits on destroying the local ecosystem," the female scientist said. "Plus we have to be concerned with genetic mutation. Subjects one, two, three, four, and five were extremely aggressive, but the serum made them imbeciles. The doctor wanted them destroyed immediately. Then subject six underwent massive mutation and started growing other limbs, eyes, noses, and ears. Not only that, he was so aggressive he destroyed the holding cell we were keeping him in. They had to come in with automatic rifles to bring him down."

"Yes, but subjects one through six were obtained in the wild. Subject seven was born and raised in the lab where we prepared him for the treatments," the male scientist said. "Plus, we improved the serum now. I believe it can work with just a few adjustments."

"The board is not going to care about your beliefs, they want to see results," the female scientist said in a smug matter. She then turned around and left the room leaving the male scientist alone with Amicus. The male scientist knew that it was fruitless to argue more with his colleagues, and a malicious idea grew in his mind. Since the project was about to be scrubbed anyways, the male scientist wondered what would happen to Amicus if he gave him the rest of the serum. After careless consideration the male scientist gathered the remaining vials of serum and administered the serum intravenously to Amicus. Immediately Amicus's heart rate went up. To avoid being caught with what he had done, the male scientist recalibrated the heart monitor so that it would read normal. He then took the radio collar off of Amicus, and left the room.

The male scientist walked towards a couple of workers, stopped in front of them, and said "we are finished with the buck and the fawn. You may return them back to the forest."

Geno was still really groggy from the tranquilizer and continued to slip in and out of consciousness. The workers detached Geno's and Amicus's heart monitor sensors, air-tubes, saline locks, and unstrapped them from the lab tables. They then loaded Amicus in the bed of a pickup truck with a veil over his eyes. They then placed Geno in a small caged and placed him next to Amicus on the pickup truck.

The next thing Geno remembered was seeing Amicus who was breathing quite rapidly, and was making some terrifying groans. The workers inside the cab of the pickup truck couldn't hear Amicus because they had the radio turned up. Amicus was still unconscious though, but for how long Geno thought. Geno could then see changes happening to Amicus right before his eyes. Not only were his antlers growing bigger, but his whole body was growing bigger as well. The truck finally stopped, and the workers left the cab. They walked to the bed of the pickup truck, lowered the tailgate, and pushed Amicus out of the bed after removing his veil. They were not careful with the process, and allowed Amicus to fall off the tailgate and onto the ground.

"Jeez, that boy is growing bigger and bigger," one of the workers said. "I wonder why they left the radio collar off of him this time. How are we supposed to find him afterwards?"

"Don't ask me man, I just work here," the other worker said with a smirk.

The workers jumped back into their truck and started to drive away. They forgot to raise the tailgate. The last thing Geno remembered was seeing Amicus lying in the bushes before falling asleep again.


	11. Chapter 11

Rolla, Lana, and Bonn were having breakfast on the meadow. Now that Amicus had disappeared, they felt it was safe to wander around the meadow along with the other deer. Bonn was barely able to speak now since bitten by the fox a while ago. Despite the negativity between both families, Bonn wondered how Geno was doing since it has been when they last spoken to each other.

"Do you think Geno will be coming back soon now that Amicus is gone?" Bonn asked his mother.

"I don't know," Rolla said. "And I don't care. That family has been a thorn in our side for too long. First Geno doesn't save you from being attacked from the fox, and then Bambi allowed that fiend Amicus to live among us. No my child, I'm afraid we can never be friends with that family again."

"It wasn't Geno's fault what happened to me mother," Bonn exclaimed. "It was my fault. I should have never wander so far inside that forest. I was the one who wanted to play that game. Geno had nothing to do with it. Besides Bambi saved me from…"

"Hush!" Rolla yelled. "Quit arguing with me and eat your breakfast. I don't want to hear any more nonsense out of you!"

Rolla's animosity towards Bambi's family steams more from Bonn being attacked by the fox. Rolla had always been jealous of Faline for pairing with Bambi, and wanted to be the mother of the next Great Prince. She believes that Bonn is little and scrawny; he should have been able to fight the fox off himself. She wanted to give birth to a son that was strong and confident. However, Bonn is a strong and confident deer, but his mother is in so much denial she can't see beyond her own two eyes.

Rolla and her family continued to eat breakfast, but out of nowhere a creature that had never been seen before knocked her violently to the ground. She screamed out in pain which caught the attention of every deer on the meadow. No one got a good glimpse of the creature (not even Bonn and Lana) that attacked her because it disappeared into forest. Rollo screamed at her children to run away, and they obeyed. Hearing her screams all the other deer frantically ran off the meadow. Most thought she fell victim to Man. Blood started to ooze from her mouth because whatever this thing was that hit her, hit her so hard that it caused her to bleed internally. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. Thinking that she was going to die, her thoughts were filled with guilt and remorse for treating Bonn so badly. She loved Bonn (her only son), and she regretted to have her last words to him be so hostile. She then heard footsteps approaching her. An enormous amount of fear coursed through her body as she tried to look up to see what was coming. Her initial thought was it was a bear because it breathed so heavily, and made loud stomping noises every time it made a step. She was then astonished to see that this thing had antlers; it was a prince. He was very grotesque looking, and spoke in a deep malevolent voice.

"So, you think because I'm gone that you get to take over my meadow again?" the prince asked.

Rolla knew who it was even though he was so beastly looking that she couldn't recognize him anymore. "Amicus?" she whispered before coughing up more blood.

"I told you I wouldn't tolerate your disobedience," Amicus said. "I told you I would kill you if you ever disobeyed me. I told you I would punish your children."

"Leave them alone you coward," Rolla said in a wheezing voice.

Amicus laughed and said "tell me where Bambi and his family is and maybe I will let them live."

"I don't know where they are," Rolla said. "I never knew."

"Liar!" Amicus exclaimed. "Geno was here in this meadow. I know he talked to you or your children. You better hope they have more sense than you."

After speaking, Amicus left Rolla by herself to die on the meadow to search for her children. The amount of serum he was given by the male scientist caused massive mutation in Amicus. He was now extremely violent and aggressive. He possessed more strength than ten princes combined, and had grown five times his size since first meeting Bambi. He was becoming worse by the hour. Amicus was no longer a deer, but a monster.

Bambi, Ronno, Boris, and the Great Prince were making their way to the west meadow (Bambi's meadow). They were being escorted by five other princes who were friends of Boris and Kuzma. Kuzma had to stay behind because he was exhausted from running to the west meadow and back to find Geno. Once Geno had told his story, everyone thought it would be best to put their plan into motion. They meticulously thought out their plan and rehearsed it several times. Their goal was not to kill Amicus, but wound him enough where he wouldn't be able to evade predators or at the very least not survive the upcoming winter. There is a river to the west of the meadow that is very near to Ronno's territory. Downstream is a small waterfall. This waterfall was not deep enough to kill a deer, but it was deep enough to severely injure one. It is Bambi's job to lure Amicus next to the waterfall while everyone else hides in the bushes. Once Amicus is standing on the edge of the cliff all of them would jump out from the bushes at once and knock him over the side. The stakes were high. They knew if they fail the Great Prince, Bambi and his family would never be able to return.

Nightfall was upon them when they finally arrived to the western forest. It was very quiet, which made everyone restless. Everyone's tension subsided for a brief moment when the Great Prince spoke.

"We should avoid the meadow altogether, he could be watching it," the Great Prince said. "Plus the wind is in our favor, it's blowing to the west so he won't be able to smell us."

Quietly the group made their way south to avoid going into the meadow, but this meant that they might stumble upon a predator. It was a risk they all agreed to take before they started their operation. Once in the south forest, the going was very slow. There were a lot of dead plants and dry twigs on the ground that could arouse the attention of anyone nearby if stepped on. Suddenly Bambi stopped.

"Bambi, we must not linger," the Great Prince whispered softly before he noticed Bambi caught a glimpse of something quite interesting. Bambi was staring at a pair of fawns who were lying in the thick underbrush.

"You can come out," Bambi said softly. "We're here to help you."

Bambi immediately knew who they were. It was Lana and Bonn who disappeared after their mother died. They were too scared to budge from their hiding spot. Bambi once again tried to assure them that they were okay. Bonn lifted his head and looked at Bambi.

"That monster is still out there," Bonn said.

"Don't you think you would be safer with us?" Bambi asked. "There are ten of us here. We can protect you."

"It's not going to matter," Bonn said. Bambi was quite puzzled by the remark which made everyone else uneasy.

"Bambi, let's just leave them here, and come back for them when we're done," the Great Prince said. "Don't worry, they will be safe."

The group left the children where they were and continued towards the waterfall which was not much further now. Ronno then noticed something quite odd on the ground, but it was something he had seen before. Once he realized what he saw, and noticed Bambi walking right towards it he silently told Bambi to stop. It was a snare that had been set up by Man a long time ago. Bambi walked around it so he wouldn't set it off or become caught himself.

After midnight the group finally made it to the waterfall where they can rest until dawn before executing their plan. Before resting though they went through their plan one more time to make sure everyone knew their duties.

"So when Bambi brings Amicus to this point," the Great Prince said. "This is where everyone will jump out, and push him over the cliff."

"Try not to go over the cliff yourself," Ronno told everyone in a joking manner.

"Now is not the time for jokes Ronno," Bambi scolded. "This is serious."

"Hey, I'm just trying to lighten the mood," Ronno said which brought a smirk to Bambi's face.

"Once he is over the cliff," the Great Prince continued. "We need to make sure he is injured enough. If not, we will have to finish him off ourselves."

Bambi was quite surprised to hear these words from his father. He always thought of his father as a gentle soul who protects everyone in the forest, but he was beginning to sound like Ronno.

"And I'll be the one to do it!" Ronno exclaimed.

"We're not doing this just because you demand satisfaction Ronno," the Great Prince said. "It is to get our home back, and restore peace to our forest."

"I agree with you sir," Ronno said. "But that won't stop me from wanting to see him suffer."

Boris shook his head and said "it should never be a pleasure to watch someone die young Ronno."

Right then Bambi had a flashback of his mother and remembered how she died. "He's right Ronno," Bambi said. "I think we've all seen enough death in our lifetime."

"Ronno it's important to stay focused from here on out," the Great Prince said. "Are you focused? Are you committed to get this done?"

"Yes sir," Ronno said. "I will do whatever you need me to do."

"Well for now you neet to get your rest," the Great Prince said. "We all need to get our rest."

"I'll have one of my princes stand guard to make sure we don't get ambushed by predators," Boris said.

Right after Boris finished his sentence they all heard a frightening roar that echoed through the forest. It was a roar they never heard before. It didn't sound like a bear it was much more malevolent and frightening.

"What on Earth was that?" Ronno asked.

"I've never heard anything like it," the Great Prince said.

"Okay…maybe we all will stand guard tonight," Boris said.

Everyone knew sleep was going to be impossible anyways from the anticipation they were feeling, but now after hearing that roar it was a sure bet no one would get any sleep.

The roar they heard was from Amicus who was lying in a thicket in his territory. He was growing more monstrous which brought him a lot of pain. He would growl and snarl during every breath. The pigment in his eyes turned pale. His antlers were growing bigger by the second. Bambi and his group were running out of time.


	12. Chapter 12

In the morning, the meadow was completely deserted. No sounds were heard, and an ominous cloud of fog laid over the meadow like a blanket. Bambi took his time stepping onto the meadow being as alert as he could be. The fog made visibility poor and the wind was swirling around in every direction which made it hard to catch any scents. The eerie quietness sent shivers of fear down Bambi, but he knew what he must do, and to fail at that task would mean a tremendous loss. Bambi cautiously walked onto the meadow with his ears erected. He had to rely on his ears to give him warning of anyone approaching since all of his other senses weren't going to help. He walked very slowly and would stop on occasion if he felt he heard something or saw something. He walked some more and stood quietly, and then do it again until he realized someone was behind him. He heard a deep and malevolent voice.

"Hello Bambi," the creature said.

Bambi slowly turned around and was completely amazed at what he saw. The creature was big, and it had glowing eyes pale. It had giant antlers with points sticking out at every direction. It gave Bambi a terrible grin which made him quiver for a moment before he regained his nerve. The beast growled and snarled as it stared at Bambi.

"Why did you leave the forest?" the creature said. "Are we not friends?"

"Amicus, what has turned you into this?" Bambi asked before noticing that Amicus was no longer wearing his radio collar.

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing," Amicus answered. "Man, my ally, has simply made me better than ever."

"Tell me, if He is your ally, then why did He take off your collar?" Bambi asked.

"Children grow up to become adults. When that happens, they no longer need their parents to rely on for survival. They rely on themselves," Amicus said. "That my friend is what happened to me."

"You consider yourself a child of Man when clearly you are a deer?" Bambi asked.

"I was born among them, they raised me, and they made me strong so I can fight off danger and enemies such as Ronno," Amicus said. "Where is Faline and the children? Why have you hidden them from me?"

"They are safe, and I've hidden them from you because you have become a beast. That is what Man has made you. Can you not see it?" Bambi exclaimed. "You look more grotesque than anything I've ever seen in my life. I am afraid of you Amicus. We all are, including Faline, Geno, and Gurri. You turned into a murderer. You first killed Karus, and then Rolla. You are not a deer you're a monster!"

"How dare you call me that which you have called Ronno on several occasions," Amicus exclaimed. "Ronno threatened my life on several occasions, and what did you do? Nothing… You think it is Man who turned me into this? No, it was Ronno. Man simply made me stronger and more aggressive."

"Ronno has a bad temper and bad manners yes, but that doesn't merit a death sentence." Bambi said. "We just ignore him and what he says and leave him be. Have you forgotten everything I have taught you?"

"You taught me nothing about the world," Amicus said. "You taught me how to be a pushover. You taught me how to be weak. Man has made me strong. Man is my true friend. He gave me this gift of not only strength, but enlightenment as well. You despise me because you have grown jealous of my abilities. You had your turn to be leader, and when it came to being my turn you hated me even more. Then you run and hide like the coward you are."

"I never hated you Amicus. I thought you were misguided because in our world there are rules that we all abide by. You chose to break those rules, and out of uncertainty I hid my family," Bambi said.

"I am through talking with you Bambi," Amicus said. "Why have you come back? Do you think you can take back that which I have taken from you? You dare to challenge me for what is mine? Well so be it! After I have taken your life, I will take everything else that had belonged to you like Faline."

"Well come at me then!" Bambi shouted. This enraged Amicus before he charged at Bambi with all of his might, but Bambi turned around and started running towards the waterfall. Amicus chased him through the forest. Bambi would dodge branches and other obstacles while Amicus plowed his way through them with his brute strength. Bambi reached the edge of the cliff near the waterfall as was planned. He stopped, turned around, and faced Amicus who also stopped.

"There is no where you can run now!" Amicus growled. "Goodbye my dear friend!"

Amicus charged at Bambi again, but other princes jumped out from the bushes at started slamming Amicus with their antlers on his left side. First Ronno and Boris hit him, and then the Great Prince. Amicus roared in anger as the rest of the princes hit him from the left. Finally, Amicus lost his balance and fell off the cliff. He tumbled down quite violently until his body hit the ground on the bottom which caused a thunderous noise. Bambi, the Great Prince, Ronno, and Boris looked down from the cliff and stared at Amicus for a moment.

"We must go down there to see if he's dead or not," the Great Prince said.

"Oh yeah," Ronno said chuckling sarcastically. "Be my guest."

"I will go down there," Bambi said.

Bambi made it down to the bottom of the cliff with all the other princes watching him from above. He saw Amicus lying on a pile of rocks. Bambi cautiously approached him. He could see that Amicus's eyes were closed and blood was oozing from his mouth. Amicus landed on his side instead of his legs which Bambi thought was discouraging because if Amicus was still alive, then he still has legs to run on which would not make him susceptible to attacking predators. Bambi couldn't hear Amicus breathe as he got closer. He stood quietly over Amicus for a while and decided that he was dead. With a sigh of relief, Bambi turned around and start heading back up towards the cliff. However, unbeknownst to him Amicus opened his eyes, and slowly lifted his head. Seeing this Ronno shouted "Bambi look out!"

Bambi turned around and saw Amicus charging at him once again. Amicus growled and snarled as he was trying to catch Bambi who was running away from him. At first Bambi was discouraged because the initial plan failed, but since he was being chased that thought didn't stay with him for long. He then remembered the snare at the top of the cliff. The same snare that he himself almost got caught in last night. Bambi quickly came up with a new plan, and led Amicus to the top of the hill where the snare was set up. Because Bambi knew where the snare was, he could see it as clear as day, but Amicus, who was blind with rage, did not. Amicus managed to get his left front leg caught in the snare. His tremendous forward momentum caused him to flip over onto the ground. Bambi stopped, and turned around. Amicus was thrashing around like a wild boar cursing Bambi.

"I hate you! I'm going to kill you and your children!" Amicus screamed over and over again. Amicus was thrashing around so much that the snare was beginning to cut into his leg which caused him to bleed. Blood was pouring down Amicus's leg. Bambi watched on in horror. He can truly see the evil and hatred in Amicus's eyes.

"You brought this upon yourself Amicus," Bambi exclaimed. "I warned you of the dangers of Man, but you were blind to see the truth."

"No Bambi!" Amicus screamed. "It is you who are blind. I see clearly now who my true enemy is. It's you!"

Much to Bambi's amazement, Amicus with all his might broke the snare and Bambi found himself being chased yet again. Bambi, not knowing what else to do, ran back out to the meadow to face Amicus head on. Amicus this time did not stop. He knocked Bambi onto the ground and started trampling him. Bambi could feel the bones in his body being crushed and could see blood pouring out from his wounds. But then Amicus was being attacked. He stopped trampling Bambi to see who it was. It was Ronno, the Great Prince, Boris, and the other princes. More rage entered Amicus when he saw Ronno.

"You! I will kill you too!" Amicus shouted while he charged at Ronno. Ronno tried to lock antlers with Amicus, but Amicus's strength was too much for Ronno who found himself on the ground. Boris, and the other princes started to attack Amicus before he could do any damage to Ronno. The Great Prince ran to Bambi who was badly beaten, but he managed to get back on his feet.

"We need to get you out of here Bambi," the Great Prince said. "We all need to leave. Our plan has failed. Nothing can stop this monster I'm afraid."

"I can't father," Bambi said in pain. "My leg doesn't work right."

The Great Prince looked at Bambi's left front leg and noticed it was crushed below his elbow. "You must try to escape Bambi."

"No, you and the rest leave," Bambi said. "Watch over my children for me please."

"I'm not losing you my son," the Great Prince said. "You can make it."

"Amicus will catch up with you as sure as daylight, and kill us all," Bambi said. "Leave me. It's the only way the rest of you can escape."

Amicus continued to be attacked by the other princes, but he was holding his own very well. He would kick one prince who would try to get behind him with his hind quarters, and then knock another prince to the ground with his antlers. None of the other princes were a match for Amicus and knowing this he focused his attention onto Ronno. He charged at Ronno. To evade Amicus, Ronno started stepping backwards, but Amicus was too quick. He knocked Ronno to the ground and started trampling him again. The other princes tried to get Amicus off, but they had little effect since Amicus was in too deep of a rage to care. Amicus trampled Ronno's entire body and his head crushing his bones and causing deep wounds. Finally, all the other princes rallied together and all at once were able to knock Amicus to the ground. Amicus was hurt.

Without noticing that Ronno was practically dead on the meadow the Great Prince then shouted "Boris, Ronno, c'mon! We are leaving!"

Boris screamed back "What about Ronno? We can't just leave him."

"Go," Bambi said. "I will take care of Ronno."

Boris and the Great Prince stared at Bambi for a moment before he said again "Go!"

"Good luck my son," the Great Prince said before running off the meadow with Boris and his princes. Amicus slowly made it back to his feet.

"How dare you," Amicus said to Bambi quietly. "How dare you come back and try to destroy me."

Amicus slowly walked closer to Bambi before saying "do you have any last words?"

WHAAP!

POP!

The sound of thunder echoed through the forest, and something had gone through Amicus's neck. Bambi watched in horror as a tremendous amount of blood began pouring out from Amicus's neck. The blood seeped into Amicus's trachea causing him to choke and wheeze.

WHAAP!

POP!

As another sound of thunder echoed through the forest, Bambi saw blood and pieces of Amicus's head flying in midair. Amicus's body dropped to the ground with blood pouring out from his head and neck. Bambi knew what had happened to Amicus, but he couldn't run with his injured leg. So he just stood there waiting for his turn to be killed, but it didn't come.

Amicus was killed by the workers from the laboratory that he came from. The doctor found out what the male scientist had done and ordered the workers to go find Amicus and kill him. The male scientist was fired, and the doctor said "now that Subject 7 has been purged, we can now finally put all of this behind us."

Bambi continued to wait, but then he realized that whoever killed Amicus was not going to kill him. He limped over to Ronno who was barely alive. Ronno's skull and ribcage had been crushed by Amicus's violent rampage. He had bleeding interior and exterior wounds. His eyes were bloodshot, and his antlers broken.

Ronno looked up at Bambi and whispered "is he dead?"

"Yes, he's dead," Bambi replied.

"If I ever caused you any pain or frustration, please forgive me. I can assure you that I regret it," Ronno said before coughing up more blood. Bambi could hear Ronno's pain through his voice.

Bambi shook his head and whispered "there's nothing to forgive Ronno. In fact I hope you can forgive me for brining all of this upon you." Bambi said as he started to weep.

Ronno smiled and replied "go back to your family Bambi. Watch your children grow up. Live out the rest of your days happy. I'm glad we got to be friends."

"I'm proud to be your friend Ronno," Bambi said weeping a little more.

That was the last thing Ronno heard before his body went limp, he wheezed his last breathe, and stared off into nothingness. Ronno had passed away.

* * *

Weeks had passed since Ronno had died, but the memory of him was still fresh in Bambi's mind. Bambi now refers to Ronno as a friend instead of a rival when anyone asks about him. Bambi had to walk on a limp for the rest of his life after surviving the wounds that were inflicted onto him. He was reunited with his father, Faline, Geno and Gurri when they arrived back to the forest once word had spread that Amicus was dead. Faline had decided to adopt Bonn and Lana, and the animosity between Geno and Bonn subsided. Bambi spent more time with his children as they grew older teaching both of them very important lessons, and to especially be wary about strangers. From time to time they were visited by Boris, Kuzma, and their family. They would talk about the chilling tale of the stranger and how he was defeated. None of the deer in the forest could understand what had happened to Amicus especially Bambi who had thought about him a lot. What did Man do to him that made him so evil? Everyone had their own explanation, but it was ultimately decided that Amicus was a servant to Man to do His evil will (of course we all know the real truth). The forest and the meadow return to what it once was before Amicus turned mad. Ronno's territory now belonged to everyone, but Bambi was often reluctant to visit because of the pain and sadness it brought to him. Much guilt would run through him because if it weren't for his good deed, none of this would have come to pass he thought.

"All good deeds come with sacrifice, but they also come with rewards," the Great Prince said. "You and Ronno once rivals before, became friends later. You learn valuable life lessons, you have become a better father, you appreciate life more, and above all else it makes you a better deer. So you see my son, doing good deeds brings you a step closer to true happiness, and true happiness is something we should all strive for."


End file.
